Behind the veil
by Rhaenys-Stark
Summary: Naruto Uzumaki refuses to accept everything lying down. He is not a stupid happy boy influenced by a senile old man. He wishes to remain in solitude and peace and is willing to fight for it if required. Naruto AU. Alive Minato, Kushina.
1. Prologue

**Konohagakure no Sato, Outskirts**

Minato Namikaze had just finished sealing the kyuubi into his twin daughter and son, holding the chakra and soul respectively. The shinigami who had been summoned by the fourth hokage to perform the act looked deep into his eyes and said, " Know this mortal as payment for summoning me onto this infernal plane, i decree that the village you care for will be razed to the ground by the fires of the very being you had me seal ". Having said his part the shinigami vanished from the battlefield.

Minato was shocked at what he heard and was thinking frantically of how the kyuubi could reform. He had believed that using the shinigami would not have any consequences that would harm his precious village. He looked at both his kids, Natsumi and Naruto, who were sleeping tiredly after having suffered through the pain of having a beast of chakra sealed within them. He noticed the whisker marks that were slowly but surely appearing on Naruto's face. He broke out of his thought after he realized Hiruzen and Jiraya arriving via shunshin. After he explained what had happened with the shinigami both the sannin and ex-hokage started to mull over what had happened.

Jiraya said, "Minato maybe it would be safe to keep the twins away from each other for a few years, since there is a risk of the soul observing back its chakra if they are kept close together". Minato and Sarutobi both saw the logic in the statement and had to figure out how exactly to go through this.

Sarutobi then noticed the whisker marks on Naruto's face and asked,"Minato can you open naruto's eyes and his mouth". Upon doing so the trio were shocked to see small fangs were his baby tooth should have been and his irises were continuously shifting from slits to normal. Jiraya then said,"Maybe the kyuubi's soul is not dormant as we thought and has already started tampering with his genetics. This only shows to prove that the soul is sentient within him and has to be kept away from its chakra source so it does not reform".

Minato nodded his head and asked sarutobi to keep naruto within the village as the jinchuriki so that other villages did not attack konoha while in its weakened state, while him and kushina would take Natsumi to Spring country where they could live in relative secrecy being a personal friend to their daimyo. He then hirashined all of them to the hospital.

Kushina immediatly jumped from her bed and grabbed her children crying softly knowing what had transpired. After minato explained his plan to her she was softly shaking with rage, "You bastard, you seal a bijuu into my children and now you want me to leave my son in this village, i truly regret the day i agreed to marry you and i dont think i can ever come to love you after what you have done" and spat on his face. Minato was heartbroken to see his wife acting in such a way while hiruzen and jiraya were trying to explain that the situation was unavoidable. Kushina calmed herself and looked at the three of them and said,"I understand that Natsumi and Naruto being close together may be dangerous to Natsumi for the time being, but why can't one of us stay with naruto, i dont feel comfortable leaving him in this village by himself".

Hiruzen replied,"Kushina, i assure you that the village's people will treat him with all the love and care he will ever need, you need to have more faith in our "Will of Fire"" he exclaimed. "And you know Natsumi will need her mother more since being a baby girl and Minato has to be with you seeing as he is the only one who can truly protect both of you from any amount of danger and can use hirashin to teleport you three if there comes a danger that the both of you cannot handle, whereas Naruto would be protected by the entirety of the village".Kushina could understand the logic behind his words and nodded her head to the idea even though feeling that this could possibly go very wrong. Minato then said, "I beg you kushina, you have to understand that i had to do this for the better of the village. I was fully confident that the sealing process would not bring harm to either of our children or else i assure you i would not have gone through with it. So please dont hold a grudge against me."

Kushina looked into his eyes with hate,"I will agree to live with you and act as a caring wife, so that our daughter will be happy, but know this i consider your involvement as nothing but a mission. Forget any ties you think you had with me since i consider our marriage over, with the act that you have committed." Minato had tears flowing from his eyes while hiruzen and jiraya were shocked to hear her statement. Kushina,Natsumi and Minato left for Spring country in the following week after Kushina cried over naruto and kissed him all over before leaving. It broke her heart to leave her son but knew it was necessary for the well-being of Natsumi.

Hiruzen,Jiraya and Minato had agreed to keep the fact that Minato, Kushina and Natsumi were alive as a SSS secret known only to the three of them and placed memory blocking seals on everyone who had seen them after kyuubi was sealed. Once the three of them left, Jiraya told Hiruzen, "Sensei make sure that Naruto is always kept under watch as i believe that kyuubi's soul may already have an influence on the boy. I'll arrive sometime later once my spy network has been properly assembled and organized to see the boy". Sarutobi only nodded and watched Jiraya leave with a shunshin.

Hiruzen took naruto to the hokage tower where he crossed paths with the last person he wanted to meet that day. Danzo watched his old teammate walking down the road with a bundle in his arms. As soon as he saw what was within it he understood the situation and told Sarutobi,"Hiruzen i have asked the village to convene in front of the hokage tower to alert them on what has happened with the kyuubi situation." The third hokage just nodded his head and kept walking, praying that the villagers would accept naruto.

Once the announcement was made, the vicinity was strangely calm until Naruto chose that specific moment to open his eyes and give a large yawn. As soon as the people and shinobi assembled saw his eyes and fangs they clamored for him to executed. But Hiruzen calmed them down saying that the village needed a live jinchuriki to keep the other villages at bay. The reason calmed the people down enough to not rush at him and strike the baby down but the hate that filled their eyes had not reduced even a little for the monster that took away their families and friends.

The baby was placed in the orphanage along with all the other orphans from the kyuubi attack.

 **3 years later, Konoha orphanage**

Naruto woke up from his room in the attic and walked to the dining room where he took a seat far away from the other children. The matron walked up to him and placed some bread with mold on it and some water. He silently ate and drank it while looking around the room to see if anyone was coming near him. He looked like a normal child his age except for a few key differences. His eyes were slanted with slitted pupils and red irises. His fangs in place of his canines had grown bigger and his ears tipped and slanted. His body was malnourished and fingers were bent with pointed nails looking very similar to claws. Although he looked like a human for the most part his character and mind was like a cornered animal. Once the people around him started to feed him solid food at around 1 year he would always get sick but surprisingly it would pass within a few hours.

He noticed that the children were always mean to him but with his sharp senses he could hear the matrons in the orphanage promising the kids more food if they made sure that the demon was bullied constantly. He cried himself to sleep without knowing why he was hated to this extent. Everytime he walked through the village he was glared at and if he tried to make friends in the village park with the other children, he would be chased off by their parents who made sure to corrupt their children into thinking he was a demon who fed on little children.

As a child he learnt not to cry around other people as they found enjoyment in making him cry longer and put him in pain to see him wail. Although he hated the orphanage he knew the village outside was more dangerous. Once when naruto tried to sleep in the park he was caught by some citizens who had bound him with rope stabbed knifes through his hands and legs and left him at the orphanage by the time he had passed out from pain. After that incident he never went outside the orphanage when it became dark. The incident opened his eyes to the true evil waiting for him outside the walls of the orphanage where atleast he was never harmed physically.

The only person who could make him smile was the old man hokage, who came to visit him once a week and would buy him food and give him some money to spend on sweets. But even while spending time with him he never trusted him completely as naruto could feel that the old man was hiding things from him. But he was the only person in the whole village who didn't try to hurt him or make him feel miserable and he was grateful enough to not ask questions that would chase away the only person that treated him like a person. Whenever the old man brought him books on reading, writing and history of ninjas and chakra, he strived to study them as perfectly as possible so he could make him proud.

 **Within his mindscape**

The kyuubi and other bijuu were not mindless beasts who only had bloodlust and rage in their minds. They were apathetic beings with great power left by the sage as a deterrant to war between humans. Although ironically they were captured and sealed by humans to be used as weapons. Kyuubi sat within her cell and watched her container go through his day eating and trying to learn to read from books while staying away from the sight of other humans. This was the first time she had been sealed unlike the other bijuus and did not know how to act towards her container, although her chakra was slowly forming within her again she was helpless to do anything but neutralize the poisons in her container's food and modify his body so as to improve his senses and provide him some natural defence in the form of claws, a regenerative factor and a lithe body that was built for sudden, darting movements.

She slowly reminisced how numerous strange masked shinobi had come into her cave while she was sleeping and tried to attack and seal her within an inanimate vessel. She thought flaring her chakra would have been enough to scare them off although strangely they kept trying in their futile attempts to hurt and seal her. Until they succeeded in drawing her away from her cave and towards a village. Later forces from the village had begun an assault on her, which angered her immensely and retaliated until a blond man summoned the shinigami and sealed her into her container.

Kyuubi had always been an apathetic creature who tried to stay away from affairs of the world. But being sealed into this frail creature formed a bond between the two of them and she tried whatever she could to make him ready for this cruel world. Although she could be cruel at times she was only heartless to the people who deserved it.

 **Hidden Root Headquarters**

Danzo was sitting within his headquarters, mulling over what to be done about the junchuriki. Initially he had wanted to kidnap him and bring him to root for training but knew that this plan would backfire as hiruzen kept an eye on the boy and it would raise red flags if the boy appeared to go missing out of the blue. So he was letting things play out for itself.

He remembered how his order to attack the kyuubi had led to these events before him. His spy network had informed him that Iwa and Kumo were having talks about konoha, since they had two jinchurikis each while konoha had none. Danzo knew that it was time for konoha to have its own jinchiruki. He had initially wanted to trap it within a vessel like the hachibi had been. But this failed as his soldiers did not have enough knowledge in fuiinjutsu to perform the task. Then he had ordered them to lure the kyuubi to konoha so either Minato or Jiraya would seal it. The plan had gone through without a hitch, konoha gained a jinchuriki and the other village grew wary and backed off from making any invasion plans for the foreseeable future.

He had arranged for the boy to be thrown out of the orphanage into the streets. That would be the time he would strike and get to influence the boy by offering him protection from the public who still held grudges against the kyuubi.

 **Hokage Tower**

Hiruzen was observing naruto through his crystal ball. He watched sadly as the boy's frightened eyes kept moving around the room to analyse any threats in the room. He had believed that the boy would have been accepted by the populace with time but nothing changed. Even when he visited naruto he noticed the boy did not open up to him at first but was glad that the boy had taken a liking to him and tried to make him proud by studying the books he gave him.

He was at first amazed at how quickly little naruto picked up on his studies. But as he was isolated from the populace he never did have anything else to distract him other than the books he gave him. He had planned to ask naruto to join the Ninja Academy by the time he was 6 so he could form bonds with other ninja children. He hoped that the shinobi parents had more sense to not convince their children from making friends with the poor boy. He knew that if Naruto did not form any bonds within the village he would have to be sealed and handed over to danzo or the yamanakas for mental conditioning if Minato did not come back by then.

Although he felt bad for the boy and the life he had to live, the good of the village came before everything else.

 **A/N:** In this AU the kyuubi was never sealed. Minato thought once the kyuubi was ripped off of chakra it would become dormant. But since chakra is just energy, the chakra inside natsumi will eventually run out, but kyuubi sealed within naruto will keep producing it until it reaches its power again, although it will take a while to regrow nine tails worth of power.


	2. Five Years

**A/N: Hey guys i recently edited chapter 1 to make naruto like hiruzen a little as he feels the old man is the only one who does not mean any harm to naruto still does not trust him. And hiruzen notices that Naruto maybe a prodigy seeing how quickly the boy absorbs knowledge from the books that he presents naruto during his visits.**

 **Five Years, Konohagakure**

Naruto woke up as usual his hair having turned completely red through the years, eyes glowing slightly red before settling back to dark red. He yawned exposing his fangs that gleamed in the dark room. He stretched awake and went to the door in the attic room, as soon as he opened he found the matron smiling at him. "Alright naruto, since no one has come to adopt you we have to move you out to make room for other babies that need care" she said smugly. Naruto felt fear creep into his body at the thought of living amongst the villagers but he steeled himself, tied the few clothes he had into a bundle and left the building.

He was clueless as to what to do and was panicking inside having realized that from now on he would have to live amongst the villagers who had already harmed him once when he was younger. The incident had severely traumatized the little kid and from then on he had instinctively grown to be scared of the horrors the villagers were capable of making him endure. Then slowly he felt a warm aura encompassing him, that made him feel safe. He instinctively smiled and settled down.

Now that he was calm, he decided to go ask the old man what to do and hoped he would help him being the leader of the village. As he walked through the village he tried to buy some food with the money he had saved up whenever the old man had visited him before. Naruto walked towards a stall that sold Onigiri. He walked upto the counter and placed all the bills he had in front of him and asked for whatever that would fetch him. The owner looked at the money with wide eyes and then turned to look at Naruto. As soon as he realized who it was, he took all the money and removed two onigiri that had previously fallen on the ground and threw them outside his shop shouting, "I dont allow demons within my shop. Go pick up your food and eat like the filth you are" and threw Naruto out the door.

Naruto was startled and found tears at the edges of his eyes but refused to cry in front of these people refusing to give them anymore joy. He was startled to find a girl around his age with wavy black hair come up to him with a dozen onigiri in a parcel and held it in front of him. Red eyes met onyx and all the tears that he tried to hold in poured out without Naruto even realizing from the simple act of kindness. The girl was startled to find the boy crying and tried to console him but was confused as what to do. Naruto soon stopped crying and accepted her gift and was about to ask her name when another lady who looked like an older version of the girl appeared next to her and stared at him. Naruto instinctively turned white with fright seeing an adult stare down at him and pushed his lithe body to move away from her. The woman was shocked to find the child move away that quickly. She didn't understand why the young boy who looked a little like kushina her old friend ( since naruto has red hair now) had become that scared from looking at her. She took her daughter's hand who looked depressed from watching her new friends run away and left to their home.

As naruto walked around the village he could hear whispers, "Look the demon is out of the orphanage away from the other children" "I cant believe the Yondaime died for that creature to live amongst us" "Maybe finishing it off would help our comrades rest in peace". As naruto kept walking he heard more than enough to shake his bones, he immediatly ran towards the forest and found a hollow spot among the roots to hide himself from the villagers for the night and talk to the old man the next day. But to his bad luck the crowd that had planned to go after him had recruited ninjas.

As night crept in the ninjas easily sensed the kyuubi's chakra in the forest and led the crowd to the spot. As the ninjas peered into the hollow spot they could see frightened eyes looking back at them with red glowing eyes. Seeing the eyes the assembled crowd roared out loud and dragged the boy from his spot. As soon as naruto was out of the spot he darted into the forest in the hopes of escaping from his followers.

Although he was incredibly fast he did not have enough stamina to outrun the ninjas chasing after him. As soon as he was caught he was tied upside down from a tree. One of the ninjas said,"Demon because of you i lost my wife and child " while another claimed he lost his friends , while yet another claimed that he took away his arm or leg. Naruto just looked at them with fear and confusion having never met any of them before. Suddenly a fist came smashing into the side of his head making his vision blur and ears ring. He was momentarily startled before the pain settled in. He screamed out loud hoping someone would help him. The assault that followed in the form of punches, kick and stabs into his frail body made him almost go unconscious with pain, but whenever he was about to close his eyes one of the mob would crush his nails, making the sudden pain get him back into his senses and the torture would continue again.

Once the mob was done with unloading their anger, they untied the boy and left him in the forest hoping that one of the animals would eventually finish him off. They never noticed the hazy red cloak that surrounded him healing all of his injuries.

 **Within the mindscape**

After naruto had eventually passed out from the pain, he woke up feeling water on his face. As he opened his eyes he found that he was no longer tied but he could still feel phantom pains all over his body making him unable to get up. As he looked ahead he found a massive golden gate with a piece of paper attached to it. Behind the gate stood a beautiful woman with flowing red hair in a red kimono. Naruto noticed that she was crying and stretched her arms towards him. He slowly crawled towards her and as soon as he passed through the massive bars of the gate the woman rushed over to him and held him tightly against her crying over his broken body. Naruto could feel the warm feeling he loved surround him once more and closed his eyes to enjoy the small comfort this woman was able to give him. Kyuubi just looked at him with tear stained eyes and whispered lovingly, " Sleep my dear sochi-kun as long as you are here no harm will come to you". Naruto's eyes widened when the woman holding him addressed him as her son and his eyes lit up. He opened his eyes, looked into kyuubi's eyes said "Kaa-chan" and passed out with a smile on his lips.

Kyuubi did not understand fully why she had called naruto her son but when she heard him call her "kaa-chan" she felt something indescribable but right as if that moment meant more to both of them than can be explained. She smiled temporarily forgetting the villagers and content enough to hold him in her arms.

 **Outside**

Hiruzen having learnt off a commotion in the forest around training ground 10 dispatched his ANBU to find out the cause of it. A cat-masked ANBU arrived holding a broken and battered boy in her hands. As soon as he realized it was Naruto, he immediatly rushed to his side and to check his condition. He was relieved to find him still alive, he immediatly ordered Neko to carry Naruto to the hospital and stay with him until he awoke.

Neko immediatly shunshined with the boy to the hospital. As soon as the medic rushed over and look at him he said,"I am sorry mam but we do not have sufficient resources to provide any help for a demon". As soon as the words left his mouth he found a sword at his throat,"If the boy is not stabilized within the hour then the village is going to be a medic short"came an icy reply from the ANBU.

The medic immediatly rushed the boy to the nearest emergency room and gave him enough blood pills to compensate for blood loss but once all the blood was washed off he found that most of the wounds were already on the process of healing and reported the matter to the ANBU. Neko stayed with the boy and observed him,noticing flashes of a red cloak materializing around his body healing more of his wounds. As it seemed to be helping the boy she did not feel that it was necessary to slap a chakra blocking cuff around the boy.

 **Within the mindscape**

Naruto slowly opened his eyes after having slept the most peacefully for a long time. He immediatly found a pair of arms around his stomach and looked up to see red eyes looking at him with such love that he teared up having never felt anything similar. Now that he was fully aware without feeling any phantom pains he noticed that the woman in front him had red slitted eyes, fangs for canines and claws like him. As he noticed the resemblance between them he teared up and cried into her whispering,"Kaa-chan".

Kurama's heart melted at hearing her kit's words. Initially she didn't want to tell naruto about kushina and minato. She was even more worried that he may end up hating her for being the reason why other humans hated him to this extent. But the thought of having secrets from her kit made her heart ache. So she decided to explain everything to him but after some time since she wanted to enjoy this little moment with her kit and hugged him back fiercely.

Naruto could feel the warmth he would experience at times when he was frightened and scared emanating off his mother in waves that assured him safety and made him cry out tears of joy from holding the woman he thought was his mother. He clung unto her neck and rested his head in the crook of her neck and sighed contently. Soon he came to his senses and asked,"Where were you till now Kaa-chan?".Kurama replied,"I've always been with you Sochi-kun although i needed enough power to be able to summon you here". Naruto looked at her with confused eyes. Kurama understood his confusion and decided to explain everything to him.

Kurama placed Naruto in her lap and started explaining everything to him, from the beginning, of how he was inside his mind in a thought construct called mindscape and how she was attacked by konoha and sealed into him as a baby. She showed him her memories of how the blank masked shinobi attacked her within the cave and lured her near konoha where naruto saw himself and another baby being carried by a blond man summoning the shinigami who tore his "mother" and sealed parts into the two babies.

When Naruto witnessed Kurama crying out in her memories from the pain of ripping apart her nine tails he clutched onto her tighter which made kurama let out a few tears from how protective her kit was acting. Then once she finished showing him her memories, she started showing him his own memories from when he was a baby as kurama experienced through his eyes. Naruto saw another red haired woman crying over him and finally leaving him behind with strangers one of whom he realized was the old man hokage, this made him shake with rage as now he knew what the old man was hiding from him. He understood that he was watching his birth mother leave with his father and sister but surprisingly felt no emotion towards seeing them.

Once Kurama finished showing naruto everything she sat silently watching naruto, holding her heart in her hand as to how he would react after seeing his real parents and sister. Naruto looked at her and said,"Kaa-chan i have not met anybody in my short life who makes me fell the way you do. I think i understand why you showed me everything now so that you dont feel like the both of us may be living a lie but please understand that I consider you as my sole and only mother".

Kurama immediatly scooped him in a hug and peppered him with kisses making naruto laugh heartily something which he had no memory of doing until now. Kurama said,"Sochi-kun i showed you everything because i do not want to ever hide anything from you and never have felt that you being my son would have been living a lie as you really are my son". Naruto looked at her with wide red eyes,"I dont understand Kaa-chan how can i be your real son if you are trapped within me". Kurama replied,"It is because i have completely erased everything that connects the two humans that made you suffer this fate and replaced everything in you with mine".

Naruto looked at her with wide eyes shimmering with delight as kurama giggled and added,"Why do you think your hair, eyes, ears and hands look like mine. All you need is my tails and you would be exactly like me". Naruto asked her,"What do you mean tails kaa-chan?" cutely. Kurama revealed her five tails to him which encircled Naruto and carried him while he cheered and laughed loudly. Kurama said," I used to have nine tails which were ripped from me and given to your birth sister but i have been regaining my chakra one tail a year while your sister would gradually lose the chakra stolen from me the more she trains with it".

In the middle of her explanation Naruto had already gone to sleep hugging one of her tails. Kurama looked at him with motherly love and dragged her tail with naruto towards her, holding him close together. Now she had to plan on how to protect Naruto from the dangers of the cruel world they lived in.

After some time Naruto woke up and noticed he was in his Kaa-chan's hands. He slowly raised his hand and touched her cheek. Kurama immediatly came out of her thoughts and hugged naruto close to her. She asked him,"Naruto, baby what do you want to do now?" Naruto looked at her and replied,"I want to stay away from all these people and this village with just you and the people i may find precious to me and hope i never have to meet anyone else."

Kurama told him,"I am happy with your dream but sochi you need to grow powerful enough to drive away the people and put them down if they come to take your peace away from you." Naruto replied,"I understand Kaa-chan I do not ever want to feel frightened and helpless again. I need to be strong enough to protect the both of us until the time we figure out a way to get you out safely." Kurama nodded her head and said,"Sochi as the ninth bijuu my specialty is fire manipulation and i will work hard to incorporate it into your body makeup, but until then we have no choice but to stay in this village so we are protected from any hostiles outside the walls. This does not mean we dont have enemies inside these walls, so you'll have to start learning the basics from the academy to defend yourself from the villagers if they dare to attack you again". Naruto simply nods his head and asks her,"What do you think i should do with the old man, Kaa-chan?". Kurama mulled it over and said,"I understand your angry with his lies sochi but he feels guilty enough about your situation that we can use that to our benefit. Ask him to enroll him into the academy and a trainer to teach you chakra manipulation and other jutsus."

Naruto felt angry about asking the old man for help but had to agree that there was truth in his mother's words. Kurama took Naruto in her hands and hugged him tightly one last time and kissed him in the forehead before letting him leave the mindscape.

 **Outside the mindscape**

As naruto slowly opened his eyes he started to panic that he had imagined the whole thing until he heard his mother speak out,"Sochi-kun do not worry now that i have gained more than half of my power i can interact with you all the time, if you ever need to speak to me think it in your head and i'll hear it as clearly as you hear me now. Now there is an ANBU in your room, probably sent by the hokage after what those despicable humans did to you. Be wary and never reveal our relationship as we are still in enemy territory and as long as both of us are safe never let down your guard". Naruto agreed with everything his mother said, seeing the wisdom behind her words.

Neko saw the boy wake up and just sit quietly as if he was having an internal conversation but she let it go as being the result of post-traumatic experience. She walked towards the boy keeping herself within his field of vision so as not to spook the boy. She never understood why people hated the boy, sure he looked different from the other kids but he was holding one of the most powerful beings in the living plane, it was expected that there would be side effects. She noticed Naruto looking at her and decided to speak,"Hello Naruto, I was sent by the hokage to make sure you remained safe until you woke up". Naruto just shook his head without offering any reply. She sighed and asked,"Naruto do you have any identity that could help us find the attackers?". Naruto replied that,"There were too many people to remember anything significant". Neko flinched and decided to wait for the hokage to come.

By the end of the day Hiruzen having finished his duties and having not some to any conclusive evidence on the identities of the culprits that attacked naruto decided to throw the investigation away and came to check up on him. As soon as he entered the room, Neko stood up and saluted her leader. Hiruzen waved at her and addressed Naruto,"My boy i was heart-broken to have heard news of your attack and am sorry to say we have not reached anywhere in the investigation regarding the identities of the culprits". He expected naruto to be angry at his incompetence or any emotion instead he only saw the blank look the boy gave him. He sighed and tried to ease the tension that was beginning to come up between asked,"Naruto is there anything i can do to help you,my boy".

Naruto waiting for his chance immediatly replied,"I wish to learn to be a shinobi". Hiruzen was overjoyed since he wanted to ask the boy eventually and whole-heatedly agreed. But naruto did not stop at that,"I wish for tutors of my choice to teach me in their specialties". At this Hiruzen did not know how to react, it was unheard of for an academy student to have multiple jounin level tutors. He decided to approach the matter carefully not wishing to upset Naruto after his failure to protect him from the villagers. The Sandaime said,"Naruto what you are asking for is not fair to the other students and would be seen upon as favoritism.

Naruto quickly countered with Kurama whispering to him in his mind,"How is it fair for clan children being taught chakra control and other basics while i being an orphan have nobody to rely on? I thought you were the one i could ask to for help and if it is looked upon as favoritism then are you saying you wont be able to help me Jiji?" Naruto hated having to call the old man, grandfather with such familiarity but kurama assured him it was necessary to give up small comforts for the pursuit of his goal.

Hiruzen's eyes went wide when Naruto called him Jiji and was happy that the young boy felt he could look up to him and come to him if he had any problems. And in a moment of giddiness he agreed that,"Alright Naruto you are right that clan children are taught by their clans and are more prepared for the shinobi life, so i'll agree that you can request the jounins for two tutors who will report directly to me.". Naruto shook his head in the affirmative and thanked him politely. Naruto asked,"Old man i was going to meet you earlier to inform you that i dont have a place to stay". Hiruzen was prepared for this and informed naruto that he would have an apartment ready for him within a week and he would receive monthly allowance for his expenditures. Naruto thanked him again and the hokage left the boy to recover from his wounds in a much better mood having come to the thought that the boy had made an emotional connection with himself.

While the hokage was talking to Naruto, Neko was silently observing the boy and was surprised that we wanted to learn to protect himself rather than taking revenge on his attackers. She knew that with the boys burden most of the jounins would rather try to kill him rather than teach him. And in an impulse she approached the boy after the hokage left and asked,"Would you mind if i was made one of your tutors?". Naruto was surprised that an ANBU would agree to teach him and asked her,"You know that i am hated throughout this village, why would you wish for yourself to teach the village pariah?". Neko understood why the boy was wary and could respect his decision not to trust her immediatly.

Neko unlatched her mask to reveal a heart shaped face with a mane of beautiful purple hair."Let me introduce myself, my name is Yugao Uzuki, i specialize in Kenjutsu and my dream is to one day be the strongest swords woman alive. I myself was an orphan who was trained by a wandering samurai before i reached this village. You can say that i understand the difficulties of being an orphan and having no one to rely on, and after seeing the condition the villagers that i protect *spit* had decided to leave you in i feel it is an obligation for me to protect you from the people who dare try attack you again. And the safest method i deemed that helps you and stops me from killing civilians was to help you protect yourself from them."While Yugao was speaking Kurama was observing her from within the seal and having seen that the woman had potential to be a great power told her kit,"Sochi I dont see any problems with her being one of your tutors although i wouldn't trust her completely as of yet. So accept her offer and train under her, but remain wary of her".

Naruto gave Yugao a nod and replied,"I would be honored to have you as one of my tutors Yugao-sensei, although you would have to start from the basics as i have not had any experience with kenjutsu". Yugao gave a nod in reply and responded,"I understand the challenges that will come up accepting a complete novice as a student as i was one as well. I will talk with the hokage of using a training ground for us to use and anything else we may need." Naruto surprised her with a smile and she smiled back in return. Having finished their conversation Naruto went back to get some sleep whispering Goodnight Kaa-chan making a giggle heard from within his stomach, Yugao went back to guarding her charge with a smile hidden by her mask until he was released and Kurama got to modifying her Sochi's body to align with her primary element fire to an extent never seen before.

 **A/N: Kyuubi has altered Naruto's body to such an extent that he can safely call her mother. I know that in the canon bijuu's are masses of chakra and dont really have a real body but this is my AU and if you dont like it "jog off". I am sure most of you know who the black haired girl with onyx eyes is. One of naruto's tutors have been revealed. Review and let me know who you think the other jounin tutor should be and your reasons for choosing said jounin/ANBU. If any of you have any doubts feel free to ask. Cheers.**


	3. A Peek through the Veil

**Konohagakure**

Once Naruto got discharged from the hospital he and Yugao went to speak to the hokage about his residential arrangement and Naruto's tutorship under Yugao. The Sandaime heard about Yugao's offer to tutor naruto and merely rose an eyebrow without revealing any emotions on his face. He then addressed naruto,"My Boy i dont mind you learning from one of my ANBU and i will speak with her privately after, about how i can allocate time so she can take breaks from her regular job to tutor you. And I have enrolled you in the academy for the next year by the time you become six, so make sure to learn the basics from Neko-chan and dont bother her too much for fancy jutsus" the hokage said cheerfully. Naruto gave a nod and a smile in return, he understood he had to keep up appearances to avoid any problems until he got strong enough to face them.

Hiruzen sighed at how detached the boy still was even after forming a bond with him, however small they may be. He then continued,"I have also found an apartment in the residential district and you can move in immediatly if you wish". Naruto mulled over living among the villagers in relative safety but Kurama grew worried for her kit, seeing that he will have to train for some time and build his body before being ready to live amongst the villagers without constantly worrying for their safety.

She told Naruto from within,"Sochi ask that man, if it would be alright for you to stay near the woods for the time being until you feel comfortable enough to live among the villagers". Once Naruto finished with his request, a frown came upon the Sandaime's face to see Naruto clearly trying to stay away from the villagers. Even though he could understand why naruto wanted to be away from the village, he didn't feel comfortable letting the boy stay away from village thereby decreasing any chances of tying the boy to the village. Even if the boy did not show any signs of having a massive chakra reserve like his sister had at birth, he was gifted with an extremely sharp mind and animal like instincts which would only help him to become a great ninja for konoha in the future.

He replied, "Naruto I am afraid that wont be possible since i wont be able to protect you from any possible danger if you stay too far away from the village. Please Naruto, trust me only a very few people of this village have hate within their hearts which has been misdirected at you, but most of the populace is very accepting if you give them some time to adjust to your presence. So do not hold any grudges for the events you faced when you were younger and please learn to forgive and strive hard to prove to the people with hate for you that, they were wrong to have judged you as a demon because of your appearance. Prove to everyone that the will of fire burns brightly within you" the sandaime finished with a smile at the young boy.

Naruto just smiled back at the hokage and gave him a nod before leaving the room after collecting the address for his new apartment. As soon as he left the tower, his eyes glowed blood-red dangerously and anyone who looked into his eyes would have been shocked to see the amount of unbridled anger burning within them. Kurama understood that the hokage would not allow them to stay away from his sights and told naruto it would be pointless to argue with that senile husk. Both of them were angered to hear that man ask them to accept and live with the hate until the time comes when the people learn to look past it. Naruto loved his Kaa-chan too much to live peacefully and forgive the people that wished to harm them.

Kurama then spoke,"Sochi-kun you will have to learn to move within the shadows during the time of our stay within this despicable prison. I have built your body from the time you were born to perform sharp movements optimally, although you will have to train on your stamina and stealth. I am sorry I wont be able to teach you jutsus as i never had any reason to learn them. I will be busy for the next few years modifying your body to the point where you would have enough power to escape from this prison and find a place to live quietly". Naruto replied,"Don't worry kaa-chan i will make sure to ask Yugao-sensei for training in stealth in addition to learning kenjutsu". Kurama nodded her head and enveloped her warm chakra around him before receding back into his mind to continue her work.

 **Hokage Tower**

Hiruzen and Yugao were looking at naruto, walking towards his apartment through the crystal ball when the hokage raised an eyebrow, shocked to see a red chakra cloak pulsating around the boy before fading away. He turned to his ANBU who looked calm after observing the cloak and asked her,"Neko-san you dont seem too surprised seeing that red aura that was surrounding little naruto". Yugao calmly replied,"Hokage-sama i have already observed the chakra cloak healing the boy when he was injured and saw that it was not harming the boy". Hiruzen grew annoyed,"Why was I not informed of this development ? Apart from healing did you check if it had any offensive properties ?" Yugao bowed in return and replied,"Apologies Hokage-sama i assumed it was one of the benefits the boy acquired from being a jinchuriki, but other than healing I did not notice any adverse reactions".

Hiruzen grew deep in thought of the possibilities this could bring his shinobi. If he could isolate the potent healing chakra from the cloak then it could be used as med-kits in the field. But he had to know if the chakra was harmful to anyone other than Naruto. He looked at Yugao and said,"Neko-san, I hereby give you permission to take time off from your work and tutor Naruto in the subjects you deem fit. Let your commander know about the time you will be training Naruto and report to me directly and only me on his capacities and the rate at which he learns. I have previously observed how dedicated the boy can be when it comes to improving himself, if you ask me personally i would describe him to be a prodigy. I also want you to test his chakra cloak for any weakness or if it has the potential to harm people other than Naruto himself".

Yugao nodded her head and shunshined off to report to her commander leaving the hokage to mull over on how to instill the "Will of fire" into the boy. He was initially worried seeing the red chakra cloak as Naruto was only supposed to be a Jinchuriki in name and never supposed to have any of the kyuubi's chakra. He hoped it was only an effect of having a part of the kyuubi sealed within him similar to the physical changes clearly evident on his body by any casual observer. It always unnerved Hiruzen to look into Naruto's red slitted eyes and fangs, and had to consciously make sure he didn't flinch or show any emotion in front of him. It never really surprised him that the people acted violently towards the boy who looked like a demon with his red hair, eyes, claws and fangs. Hiruzen just gave a silent thanks to Kami that the boy did not grow tails. He made a note to inform Minato and Jiraya about the new discovery with the cloak.

 **Spring Country, Daimyo's private training grounds**

Kushina and Minato were watching Natsumi trying to control her chakra cloak which was fluctuating wildly. From what knowledge they had of other jinchurikis they thought the cloak would take the shape of the respective bijuu adhering around its container. But Natsumi's chakra cloak looked nothing like the fox from which it was ripped. After minutes of trying to bring to control the chakra that was violently getting dispersed in the environment, Minato hirashined next to Natsumi and placed a youki suppressing seal on her. He lifted and carried her to Kushina who took her from him and fed some food pills and energy drinks to rejuvenate her.

Minato then started,"Kushi-chan..." He immediatly found a sword at his throat. Minato looked at her with tears in his eyes and only found icy orbs staring back. He stifled a cry and said,"Kushina-san can you check if the seal on our daughter's stomach is still stable". Kushina just nodded her head, her face turning into a grimace when he mentioned "our daughter", without bothering to dignify the request with a reply. She could find nothing wrong with the seal and placed her daughter on her lap rubbing her hair between her fingers.

During the first few years of Natsumi's childhood Kushina tried to act as a loving wife to minato in front of their daughter. But as the years passed, and Minato made no plans on returning to Konoha to their son, the reality of having abandoned her son on the words of her ex-husband and two old men struck her hard. She knew if her ancestors ever met her in the afterlife they would never forgive her for having willingly left her own child for the benefit of another. Every night she had nightmares of meeting naruto and him looking at her as any other person and not as his mother. When she couldn't bear to lose any more time from connecting with her eldest child she decided to leave for konoha but Minato convinced her to stay saying that they would return as soon as Natsumi's chakra cloak solidified. She didn't oppose him at that time as she could see the logic in his words. Everytime her daughter trained in using the kyuubi's chakra, she would unconsciously pump the chakra into the air around her and if the soul inside Naruto's body was anywhere near them it would absorb its youki back into itself, harming Naruto's body . So she stayed convincing herself that it was for the better of both her children.

Minato just stood by his wife, now ex, and his daughter staring at them sadly. He had tried explaining to Kushina that he had to seal the bijuu for the betterment of the village. He had known that without a jinchuriki of their own Konoha was surviving on borrowed time before the other villages came to unleash their own jinchurikis on them. And any other children without her Uzumaki genes would never have been able to survive the sealing process. He never truly regretted the act that he committed until Kushina declared that she did not want anything to do with him and nullified their marriage. He had begged and cried at her feet to accept him back proclaiming that it was all done for the betterment of both the village and their children who would become more powerful than they ever could have. And yet now one child was far away without any knowledge of their existence and another child who was no where close to molding the chakra sealed within her and living upto her potential.

From birth Natsumi had enjoyed the affection showered on her by her parents but as time passed she could literally taste the awkwardness in the air between her mother and father. She never bothered thinking too much on it as both of them made sure to treat her as a princess, buying lavish presents and taking her around the spring country with the daimyo and his family. Often times her god-father Jiraya would show up with presents, books,toys and let her play with large colorful toads. When she had acquired sufficient knowledge about shinobi and chakra, she begged them to train her so she could become like her Kaa-chan and Tou-san. Minato could not have been happier although Kushina was reluctant to start training her child at such an young age. However she could not bring herself to refuse her precious daughter's request.

***Natsumi 5 years - a few months back***

Natsumi stood in front of her father after she had finished her daily routine of physical training and chakra control exercises, while her Kaa-san was standing at the edge of the training ground observing them. Minato then spoke up,"Natsumi-chan, I am going to loosen a seal around your stomach that is a powerful chakra source. Use the chakra control exercises we taught you and try to mould it around your body. Once you succeed in collecting it into a solid shape around you, i'll teach you some of my powerful jutsus". Natsumi's eyes sparked with joy at the chance to earn some flashy jutsus and immediatly replied,"Don't worry Tou-san I'll finish it in no time". Minato chuckled and gave her head a rub, before lighting his fingers with a purple fire that he summoned and loosened her seal a little.

As soon as the seal was loosened, red chakra came out of her pores spreading out into the air. Natsumi's eyes widened in excitement feeling the power coursing through her body. She concentrated to hold it close to her instead of letting it go. But she could feel no connection with the chakra as soon as it exited her body and any attempts to use her own chakra to pull at the red youki was futile. Minato's excitement dropped down, but assured himself that it was expected, that his daughter would not be able to control it the very first time and that it would get better with time. Kushina even though having no experience with youki could see that her daughter could not manipulate it even to a little extent.

She walked upto her daughter and said,"That's enough for today Natsumi-chan, we'll try again tomorrow and keep training until we get it right". Natsumi nodded and tried to shut her connection with the seal and after some struggle managed to shut it off. As soon as the chakra stopped coming out of her body, she fell towards the ground before being scooped up by her mother. She asked,"Kaa-chan why do I feel this tired ?". Kushina rubbed her head and replied,"Don't worry musume, your body is just reacting to the disappearance of the red chakra that was flowing through it". Natsumi just nodded her head, trusting her mother's words and overcome with tiredness couldn't help but fall asleep.

After she woke up, she asked her parents about why she had another chakra other than her own. Kushina turned her head and stared at him, until he gulped and tore his gaze away from his ex-wife before explaining all the events that had occurred. Natsumi was shocked to learn that she was not an only child. A small spark of jealousy rose within her before being smothered out by excitement. She excitedly ran towards her mother and asked her,"Kaa-chan, do you think Nii-san would be happy to see us when we return ?" Kushina did not have the heart to tell her that her brother probably did not even know of her existence and so replied,"Of course musume, how can he not love such a cute imouto. So make sure to train extra hard so we can meet him soon, okay". Natsumi shook her head in acceptance and went to sleep that night dreaming about how her new oniisan was.

***Back in the present***

Minato walked out to the balcony leaving kushina to relax with their daughter. He looked into the horizon praying that the decisions he had taken would pay eventually and that the shinigami's words never come to see the light. As he looked into the horizon, he noticed a monkey summons moving towards him. Realizing it must be the sandaime's he waited for it to some closer before moving towards it. The animal handed over a scroll with a blood seal on it and disappeared back into the summon world. Minato pricked his finger and wiped it over the seal. He read through the scroll and immediatly grew white."How did this come to be, He should not have any of its chakra to be able to form a visible chakra cloak. This only proves that the soul trapped within the boy is sentient and possibly trying to regain power. I'll have to ask Jiraya to visit the boy sometime in the future and place some suppressing seals on him just to be on the safe side".

Once he was done reading the scroll he noticed a picture stuck behind. It was a current picture of his son. Minato's eyes widened staring at what he remembered to be a blonde haired, blue eyed baby. If he did not know that the boy he was staring at was his own son, he would have confused him for being a demon's offspring. He knew that Kushina would only worry and cry over the recent developments with their son and it was for the better to hide this from her. "She has to concentrate on Natsumi and help with her coaching. And neither I nor Natsumi can afford for her to be distracted by Naruto during these crucial moments. I'll explain to her eventually by the time Natsumi is able to control the bijuu's chakra and we are ready to leave for konoha".

And thus convincing himself he set fire to the scroll and the picture with a small katon jutsu. He never noticed purple eyes staring at his actions from within the confines of the house.

 **A/N: Minato does not want to return to Konoha until Natsumi can control the kyuubi's chakra as he feels that she would be able to prevent it from being reabsorbed by the soul stuck within Naruto if she has enough control over it. Kushina knows that Minato is hiding something from her but does not know exactly what, and has too much pride to ask him about it.**

 **Naruto will start his training with Yugao and meet his other tutor in the next chapter. I have an idea of who to use for his second sensei, but if i see a better choice among the reviews i'll change my decision as long as the reviewer provides sufficient explanation. Cheers.**


	4. Second sensei ?

**A/N : Thanks for the reviews everyone. And now to address some of the concerns the reviewers brought up,**

 **1\. Naruto is not going to become a demon. The Kyuubi made his body more animalistic so he has better survival instincts. Although he may not be a demon, he is not truly human. I know it's confusing, so just go with it.**

 **2\. I was surprised that most people brought up concerns about Hiruzen. But never really understood the point they were trying to make. So to make things clear, both Hiruzen and naruto are wary of each other although they dont show it. Hiruzen feels naruto is still impressionable and will be of use to the village as a ninja. But naruto's only goal is live in solitude with the people he cares about. Right now naruto cannot afford to have Hiruzen breathing down his neck as he is not powerful enough to escape. Hopefully that clears up most of the doubts.**

 **3\. Naruto does not act like a normal child because of obvious reasons. Having the kyuubi sealed in him did affect his personality to be more apathetic and his dream is to be free of any and all restrictions he feels that have been placed on him.**

 **4\. Danzo does not have knowledge of Minato, Kushina or Natsumi and believes that Naruto is an orphan although he knows of his parentage.**

 **Konohagakure**

Naruto was walking through his new apartment. The building itself was old and it seemed he was the only tenant. At Least the hokage had enough brains not to make him stay with people in such close proximity. The apartment itself was small but sufficient enough for a boy of his age. He walked through his room placed the few clothes he carried on his bed and decided to go out to buy food and other items that he may have need of with the money the hokage had given him for the month. Some passing by citizens were surprised to see the feral boy walking out of the apparently abandoned building.

Kurama said,"Sochi try to stick to the shadows and alleys as much as possible. You will have to keep your "den" hidden from these disgusting pests, so they dont try to harm you in your sleep". Naruto flinched remembering the incident when he had slept in the park when he was younger and replied,"I will Kaa-chan although it is frustrating that i need to try this hard just to live among humans". Kurama could feel the anger and resentment in his voice and replied,"Do not let this dampen your spirits Sochi. Remember you are my son and we will crush any problem that this world can throw our way together. Be patient and work hard to train your body and mind. Be sure to ask your sensei to teach you extensively on chakra manipulation".

Naruto nodded his head with a smile, he always loved how his mother could blow his worries and give him comfort when he needed it. He then asked,"Kaa-chan why do i need to expertise in chakra manipulation". Kurama replied," Sochi trust me, i am working on making us similar on a physical aspect and once my work is over you will understand why i asked you to specialise in chakra control and manipulation. It will also help you with controlling my chakra better.". Naruto agreed without worrying about it any more. If his mother wanted him to do something, he had no problem agreeing without demanding for reasons, after all he could literally feel how much love she had for him and knew she would not ask him to do anything that would not be for their benefit.

 **Konoha, Market Square**

Naruto walked out of a valley and entered a stall selling various food item, fresh and preserved. He had sufficient knowledge of how the paper slips the hokage had handed him worked from observing people before. He picked up a bunch of food and tried to walk over to the counter, hiding most of his face under his shirt. Once the owner finished going over the items, he turned over to his customer with a smile.

Kizashi Haruno was enjoying another beautiful day in his shop when an young boy walked in unaccompanied by his parents or guardians. He watched the boy walk timidly over to collect various products before walking towards the counter. He had noticed the unusual dark red glossy hair the boy had which was pretty rare within the village. He greeted Naruto,"Hello my boy great day is it not. Did your parents send you over to pick up some food? " All he received was a nod from the boy whose face was hidden by his hair and shirt. "Alright the total will be 90 ryo". Naruto handed him the money and was about to collect the food from him when Kizashi tried to pet the boy's head, Naruto instinctively flinched when he noticed a hand get near his head and made a mistake of looking into Kizashi's face which was gradually becoming pale having seen the notorious red slitted eyes that were characteristic to their resident demon.

His face immediatly grew red in anger having realised "what" had walked into his store. He exclaimed,"Filthy demon you have no business walking around us, how dare you try to shop for food from my shop". Naruto's eyes glowed dangerously before Kurama advised him to run away for now not wanting to risk any danger from any shinobi that may be around. Naruto immediatly turned around and came to face the torso of a tall man in a green suit. Following his mother's words he darted out of the shop and ran back towards his apartment in speeds that astonished the tall jounin. The jounin simply glared at Kizashi before picking up the food that the boy had paid for before running after him, a simple task seeing who he was.

 **Naruto's Apartment**

Being a jounin he knew exactly who he was chasing after but he had nothing to fear from the boy as he was now. He followed the boy keeping up with his speed easily. He was surprised to see the boy walk into an abandoned building instead of the orphanage. He walked in walking upto the second floor and stopping outside a room where he could feel his chakra the strongest. He knocked at the door letting the boy know he was there, after some time the door creaked upon revealing a dark room with red eyes that glowed from within. He simply said," I apologise for the behaviour you had to witness, here is the food that you had paid for. Please understand that I am not a person who judges people without knowing them, I am a jounin of this village and if you are in need of any help do not hesitate to ask". Once finishing what he needed to say he vanished from Naruto's door.

When Naruto had first heard the knock at his door, Kurama had said,"Sochi there is no need to try hiding from a ninja within the village right now. Open the door and see what they have to say". Once the jounin vanished from the door, Naruto let go of a breath he did not know he was holding onto. He moved towards the door, collected his food and went to sit on his bed. He was surprised at what the shinobi said before leaving and asked Kurama,"What do you think of that jounin Kaa-chan? ".

Kurama who had observed him from the time he was running after her Sochi said, "His words are admirable for a human of this village. Although we need to face reality that not every human needs to be razed with the village anyways. I could feel that his chakra network is dysfunctional, so he would most probably have to be a taijutsu expert. But even without using chakra to boost his movement he could follow you with relatively no effort on his part. That shows he has been training constantly in order to build his body. He is strong Sochi, I would advise you to approach him to as for help with improving your physique to improve your physical abilities while studying under that ANBU to improve your chakra control. Remember to learn everything they can impart on you while keeping an eye on them. Accept anything that can be of use even from your enemy if it helps you achieve your goal".

Naruto nodded his head listening to her words and replied,"I understand Kaa-chan, I'll be sure to ask him if i meet the jounin again". Suddenly a cat jumped into his room through the window holding a note in its mouth. Naruto jumped back initially before approaching the cat to see what the note said. Having finished its job, the summons vanished to its realm. Naruto read the note that asked him to report to Training Ground 11 the next day at 6 am sharp. He ate a small meal before getting ready for bed, excited for tomorrow's lessons with Yugao-sensei.

 **Training Ground 9**

Might Guy was a well respected jounin of konoha with an amazing career record. Unfortunately his life was not always as colorful as people would imagine from looking at the goofy jounin with his strange proclamations and acts. Guy had been 4 when he lost his parents, during the second shinobi war. He was thrown into the orphanage along with many parent-less children as a result of the inflated egos of old men ruling their world from on top of their seats. Many shinobi had been killed in the war to see which village emerged strongest. Konoha had claimed the price at a great cost.

When he joined the academy he was constantly ridiculed by immature brats about him not having parents. And once the teachers found his inability to use chakra, the bullying only got worse. But none of it hindered Guy, he had his body and didn't let the fact of not being able to mould chakra hinder him in the slightest. He strove hard to improve what he had until the Nidaime himself noticed his talent in Taijutsu and hired various experts to teach him in different styles of the art. Guy absorbed everything taught to him and rose up his career with an exemplary record.

Although he was a ninja whose hands eventually bled with the blood of others, he believed himself to be a pacifist who never took lives unless the situation demanded it. Once the third shinobi war started under the Sandaime's rule he was ordered to report to the front lines where he had to commit numerous acts that went against his beliefs. He was ordered to fight against his enemies on the battlefield and he followed without any question as a loyal shinobi of the leaf. As the days passed, the war kept raging on without an end in sight.

Then the day came when Minato Namikaze single handedly destroyed thousands of lives within a matter of minutes. Guy had seen on that day with his own eyes, the act done in front of him. The man after committing genocide walked towards rejoicing konoha forces without a single drop of blood on him. Although the war had been won and Minato was nominated as the Yondaime for his valor, Guy had been present during the following days when the Iwa ninjas came to carry home their deceased. The helpless rage that burnt within them when they looked at konoha ninjas were laughed at by his comrades but Guy silently observed them thinking of the thousands of children left fatherless or without a mother to come back home to.

Something broke within Guy that day. When he came back to Konoha, people were startled to see the change that had overcome the once most upcoming jounin of the generation. He started to wear green body suits, had a goofy haircut and proclaimed the Yondaime's last remaining student as his eternal rival. Everyone assumed that it was his own way of coping with the effects of the war. Before he had been happy serving as a ninja of the leaf but his belief in humanity was tested the day the Yondaime committed genocide and from then on he never truly understood what he wanted with his life.

Then the kyuubi attacked and eventually was sealed within a child, sacrificing him to live life as a pariah. Celebrations were held to honor the man who had condemned a child to live such a life. The night the child was revealed Guy could see the sparks of vengeance within their eyes and shamefully even among some of the ninjas present. Although they never tried to harm the child in the presence of the hokage and his ANBU, he knew there had been attempts to poison the child and cause him harm, which were never investigated upon. Guy had observed the child at times when the hokage used to bring him from the orphanage when he was younger.

He had noticed the glares the villagers sent towards the boy. The boy had been understandably scared of them when he was younger, but from what he witnessed today he could see the fire burning within Naruto's eyes and he knew it was only time that was protecting the ignorant people living within the village. Apart from being malnourished, his lithe body and animalistic features formed a solid base to mould into a true taijutsu genius if trained properly. But Guy was conflicted whether to teach the boy his art seeing the rage that burnt within Naruto. He did not want to be responsible for training someone who was focused on gaining power with intent to kill in the name of vengeance. He decided to let Naruto approach him and give his reasons instead of offering to train the boy and regretting it in the future. His mind made up, he resumed his training forgetting about the matter for now.

 **Hidden Root Base**

A Root ANBU came to Danzo's office to deliver the recent report on the resident jinchuriki. After handing it over he bowed respectfully leaving his leader with his thoughts. Danzo was intrigued to know that Hiruzen had one of his personal ANBU training the boy. He was surprised that the senile old fool agreed to let the boy be trained instead of letting him enjoy his childhood or whatever stupid reason "he" muttered to himself before retiring to bed. Although this made it difficult for him to approach the boy if the ANBU was training him privately. At least their jinchuriki was being trained to fulfil its duties.

He muttered to himself, "Although the jinchuriki is being trained he will have to be monitored for signs of aggression and as soon as he begins exhibiting them, I can force Hiruzen with the council's backing to bring him under my wing for emotional conditioning".

He summoned two of his root ANBU and ordered them to keep track of the boy and give him daily reports concerning his training, warning them to be stay as far away as possible whenever "Neko" was in the vicinity. Having receiver their orders, they gave a curt bow and shunshined off to perform their duties. He looked over the other reports placed on his table.

Apparently Suna was having difficulties controlling their jinchuriki. There were rumors of a rebel faction forming against the Yondaime Mizukage. Kumo and Iwa had strengthened their borders making it difficult for his agents to pass through. A frown came upon Danzo's usually blank face on looking at those reports. There were also reports of rogue shinobi banding together under an unknown leader to form a village in Oto no Kuni, nothing of concern to a major village. In Ame, Hanzo had grown old enough that strange individuals were coming out of the woodworks to challenge the old warhorse.

For the time being Konoha was safe, every major village had their jinchuriki, more than one in case of Kumo and Iwa. Iwa had refrained from attacking konoha only on the announcement that Konoha had the Kyuubi no yoko, claimed to be the strongest of the bijuu, under their control. But once they had trained their jinchuriki and filled their depleted shinobi ranks, they would have enough power backing them to challenge konoha without fearing the wrath of the Kyuubi. It was only a matter of time until one of the villages came to challenge Konoha's position as the strongest Hidden Village.

 **The Next Day**

Naruto woke up the next day at 4 am and instead of taking the food from yesterday that he had stored in his cabinet decided to warm up by hunting for food in the forest. He ran through the village empty of civilians at the hour straight into the vegetation before scurrying up a large tree and settled on a thick branch. He calmed his breathing, closed his eyes and widened his ears until he could hear the quiet quick breathing sound of a small animal. Once he directed himself to the general vicinity from which the sound was coming from, he channeled chakra into his eyes on instinct which glowed dangerously revealing two small heat signatures a little below the ground he could identify as rabbits.

He rushed to a nearby stream and carried some water in his shirt before pouring it down the hole. The startled rodents jumped out through another one of its holes. As soon as the rabbits poked their heads out of the hole, Naruto flexed his legs before pouncing at them, eyes flashing, ears flat against his skull. He caught the rabbits and broke their necks quickly without causing them to suffer any more than necessary. Kurama smiled at watching her kit hunt preferring to purr in contentment than break the peaceful silence of the forest. Once the rabbits were skinned and cooked over a fire, he made quick work of the meat and washed it down with some water.

Having finished his meal, Naruto began walking towards training ground 11 to meet with his new sensei.


End file.
